Do not pass a cough in the child - what to do?

The realization of what constitutes cough, and the nature of its origin, largely predetermines the tactics of treatment and sets the direction in case of need for a survey.

So, we know that cough, like temperature, is the body's response to the penetration of external stimuli. So, a physiological cough appears due to the ingress of saliva, dust, crumbs, slime accumulated during a night's sleep in the respiratory system. As a rule, such cough is episodic, it should not cause fears and it is not necessary to treat it either. Quite another matter is a pathological cough that does not pass two weeks or more. It can develop as a result of an acute respiratory viral infection or act as an independent symptom of a disease. To determine the cause of this cough, it is necessary to take into account that cough receptors are not only in the respiratory system, they are also present in the outer shell of the heart, in the esophagus and even in the mucous membrane of the stomach.

In other words, cough is a reflex that occurs under the influence of irritating factors. To determine what to do, if the child does not stop coughing, you need to thoroughly understand the reason for what is happening.

Causes of an impassable cough in a child

If your baby has recently had a cold illness, then cough, as a residual phenomenon, can last up to two weeks, in rare cases, up to a month. There is no reason to worry if, in addition to such an impassable, necessarily wet, cough, the child does not have other symptoms of the disease.

Otherwise, if the noticeable improvement in the baby's condition is not observed for a long time, while he suffers from a dry, hysterical cough. Then we can assume that the disease did not pass without a trace and complications developed in the crumbs, for example, bronchitis, pneumonia, laryngitis, pharyngitis, tracheitis, pertussis can not be excluded, as well as migration of ascarids. As a rule, these diseases are accompanied by a rise in temperature, general weakness, loss of appetite, headache. How to treat such a dry, impassable cough in a child should be decided by the pediatrician based on the diagnosis, the severity of the disease and the individual characteristics of the small patient.

It is impossible to say unequivocally about the causes of dry, persistent cough in a child without temperature. Especially in cases where the appearance of the latter was not preceded by any disease of the upper respiratory tract. In this situation, you can not rule out the possibility of coughing as a symptom:

Also, a persistent cough in a child without fever can be caused by an allergy.

What if the child does not have a cough for a long time?

Proceeding from the foregoing, it follows that before deciding to cure a cough, one should find out its etiology. Usually, with a cough that has arisen against the backdrop of the inflammatory process in the respiratory tract, so that an unproductive dry cough is transferred to wet, and help the child get rid of phlegm. In such cases, doctors prescribe medications with mucolytic action, then, when the cough becomes wet, they are replaced by expectorants. These drugs are used in combination with antibiotic therapy, inhalations, foot baths (in the absence of temperature), compulsory copious drinking, massages.

Of course, answering the question, than curing a cough in a child that does not go away, one can not be guided by general rules. Since there are many reasons for the appearance of this symptom, only a doctor can prescribe competent and adequate treatment.